Grand Moff Claudius Rodney sat clearly
agitated at his desk as he sorted through pile after pile of datapads.
"Blast," he cursed, as he slammed one angrily down on his desk. The
middle-aged man clenched his hands angrily as his face reddened with
anger and he stared around the room. "You there, Lieutenant..." he
paused, unable to think of her name. "Where is Major Kiley?" he asked,
as he looked over the latest reports from Ralltiir. The situation seemed
to worsen by the hour, and his adjutant had been oddly distant lately.

The Storm commando lieutenant was at
attention, wearing her helmet and the rest of her armor like a true
professional. This made her the rule rather than the exception among the
Stormtrooper Corps, but it was admirable nonetheless. His question
seemed to take her aback, however. He would get a distinct impression
that she was blinking behind that helmet. "My apologies, but I am not
certain, sir. Do you wish me to locate her, sir?" She looked rather
eager to please. No doubt she was not wanting to disappoint a Grand Moff.

Claudius brought two hands up over his face and slowly ran them down,
stretching his skin in frustration as he considered the situation
carefully. "No. I am confident she will turn up. Perhaps someone should
look under a chair," he said angrily, making a cruel comment regarding
the woman's diminutive height. Hearing the female voice beneath the
helmet he tilted his head slightly. "Are you new?" he asked, as he rose
from his seat and walked over to the viewport and stared out angrily at
the stars, gritting his teeth in frustration.

"Yes, sir. Lieutenant Brianna Visla, sir." The storm commando was
significantly tall at 1.8 meters height. She held her DC-15A blaster
rifle at attention, and looked comfortable enough to bring the large
weapon into firing position in an instant. With the helmet covering her
face, it was hard to tell if talking to a Grand Moff was intimidating
her.

Claudius lowered his head dejectedly as
he stared out the viewport, as if he could feel the ebb and flow of the
galactic turmoil of his Oversector flow through space. "Off with the
helmet, then," he said, rather bluntly as he prepared to view the new
officer. If someone was tasked to protect him and his family he would
like to know whom they were.

"Yes, sir. Of course, sir." She shifted
her blaster rifle to one arm and removed the helmet. The storm commando
looked young ... very young, even. She must have gone straight from the
Imperial Academy on Carida into Storm Commando training, which meant she
must have tested out very well. The trooper had an elegant beauty to her
face that indicated some Hapan heritage ... a quick check of her profile
would confirm that. Her hair was red and shoulder length, her eyes
green.

Claudius first caught her visage in the
reflection of the viewport, still having not turned towards her. "You
look very much like my wife..." he said quietly, as his head turned to
face her finally. "You seem awfully ... young," he said, as he would
make a note to check her dossier later.

"My apologies, sir. I have only recently
been commissioned, but I hope to serve for many years if it pleases the
Emperor." She would clip her helmet to her utility belt so both hands
were free and she turned directly towards him for inspection. The storm
commando seemed lithe and toned beneath her armor, moving with the
strength of someone who had spent the last few years in the high gravity
of Carida.

"What have you been told of the
situation here in the Ringali Shell, Lieutenant?" Claudius asked, as he
moved swiftly towards his desk and towards the couch in the opposite
side of his office. Looking quite fatigued, the middle-aged man sat down
on the sofa and put his feat up on the table. His brown eyes stared at
her carefully, wondering why the Empire was sending children to fight a
war.

"The Empire has not seen fit to inform
me of the situation, sir. Need to know basis. I serve at the discretion
of my Commanding Officer." She definitely seemed like a model soldier,
even if she was clearly not ready to be speaking personally with a Grand
Moff. As she stood there waiting for his next question, she would blink
as she realized he might not be satisfied with that answer. "Speculation
on my part would be irresponsible, sir, but I will engage in it if you
wish."

"You may think you are safe in the warm
embrace of the galactic core, my dear," Claudius began as he brought his
right hand up to his ear and scratched at it in frustration. "But let me
tell you that the Rebellion has been felt throughout the Oversector and
we have suffered at times devastating losses..." he continued, letting
out a dejected sigh as he conceded these points to her. "I hope you are
prepared for just what we have in store for you here..." he said,
alluding to the death of the previous squad, but without directly
referencing it.

"My life belongs to the Emperor, sir. I
will gladly sacrifice myself in the protection of your household, or in
action versus the Rebellion or other terrorists." It was not clear
whether the storm commando was idealistic, naive or just plain stupid.
Maybe she had a martyr complex. Either way she seemed very loyal.

"Indeed, Lieutenant, but if you are dead
how can you ensure that your mission is successful?" Claudius posed to
her, as he folded his arms deliberately in front of his chest. "Words
straight from the Academy, but do you understand what they mean? There
are tens of thousands of dead Imperials who gave their lives to the
Emperor. That's 10,000 people we have to recruit and train to replace
them. Even you, my dear, are a replacement," he explained to her,
wishing he could have a drink at this particular moment in time, but he
had promised his wife he would refrain. "The Empire would be much better
served if you liverd and succeeded instead of dying in a heroic attempt
to succeed," he scolded her, as he pulled his arms from his chest to
point at her.

Her skin turned slightly red as she was
reprimanded. Fearless as Stormtroopers were on the battlefield, nothing
in their training prepared them for conversations with Grand Moffs. "Yes
sir. I apologize, sir. In life or death, I will serve the Empire. I am
happy to serve in whatever capacity I am needed."

"Can a corpse serve, Lieutenant?"
Claudius asked, as he rose from his seat and walked over towards the
alarmingly tall woman. He reached out and grasped at her rifle, holding
it firmly in both of his hands. He lifted it up and down slightly, as if
it were a weight, and regarded the feel of it. "Have you ever used this
in combat?" he asked, his eyes on the weapon, rather than on her.

Her rifle weighed 4.5 kilograms and
could fire up to 500 rounds before needing a power pack replacement at
its lowest power setting. At its highest, it could hit a target from ten
klicks away or blow a hole in a solid duracrete wall. "My Omega Exercise
before graduation from the Academy, sir. I commanded a platoon assigned
to crushing a small insurgency movement. Scored kills with it in close
combat, intermediate range and sniping." She paused, deciding she needed
to correct herself. "I apologize, sir, if it sounds like I am
taking credit. All glory to the Empire."

Grand Moff Rodney tossed the rifle in
the air slightly for her to catch, as he backed away from her. "Hang on
to that, Lieutenant," he said, as he began walking towards his desk
where he had too long taken himself away from his duties. "I have a
feeling you're going to need it," he said as he sat back down at his
desk and went back to unenviable task of looking over the datapads.